DENVER (KDVR) — It’s been a busy few weeks for Colorado’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General Phil Weiser, from tackling abortion rights, to fentanyl, to rising crime, to controversy inside one district attorney’s office.
We spoke exclusively with Weiser about it all, this Sunday morning on “Colorado Point of View.”
Wednesday, 12th Judicial District Attorney Alonzo Payne resigned following an investigation into complaints about how his office treated victims. Weiser said he may have even put those victims’ safety at risk.
We asked the attorney general why it took seven months for this investigation. He said his office had to be prepared to go to court.
“We also wanted to make sure we were very victim-centric and that we were sensitive about where victims were willing to go public,” Weiser said. “We didn’t want to re-traumatize victims in another legal process after they already had been mistreated.”
On rising crime in Colorado, our Data Desk analyzed stats from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. It shows violent crime increased significantly in the last 14 years.
Weiser says violent crime actually went down in 2019 and spiked during the pandemic.
“We’ve worked hard on some critical prosecutions including homicides in Pueblo, efforts praying on the Asian community in Fort Collins and a bicycle theft ring in Boulder,” Weiser said. “We’ve worked hard to support law enforcement, providing mental health services, providing $5 million for recruitment and retention, working on how to improve training.”
You can see the full interview with Attorney General Phil Weiser on “Colorado Point of View,” this Sunday at 7:30 a.m. on Colorado’s Very Own Channel 2.
